Toilet Leaks

Toilet leaks are typically “silent”, in that you won’t necessarily find a puddle of water on the floor since the water is usually leaking out from the tank into the bowl (and down the drain). This makes it fairly easy to overlook the leak, or to keep putting off fixing it. Toilet leaks are generally slow leaks too, so you might not even notice a small increase in your bills each month until you look back and realize you’re paying $100 more for water this month than you did at the same time last year.

One of the easiest things to check is for a water leak from the tank itself. Start by removing your toilet tank lid (be very careful, because tank lids are extremely fragile, can be heavy and are usually slippery when wet) and add some organic-based coloring (such as food coloring) to your toilet tank water. We even offer free color test dye tablets in our office for this specific purpose!

After adding the coloring, do NOT flush the tank, but instead wait a little while for the tank water to change color and settle. If after about 10-15 minutes (without flushing the tank) you find the colored water in the bowl, or on your floor, to be the same color as the colored water inside your tank then you'll know you have a leak.

Log into your WaterSmart account to learn more about detecting and resolving leaks. You’ll find free tools there to help you identify potential leaks and advice on how to fix them.